Yes, it’s that time again, the weekend, and time to review the best new movies and television shows added online this week, to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. And there are some exciting new adds this week, so let’s get started.
HULU
Hulu has Sleep, the 2023 Korean horror flick. Here, newlyweds Hyeon-soo(Lee Sun-gyun) and Soo-jin(Jung Yu-mi) are suddenly thrown in turmoil, when Hyun-soo begins talking in his sleep. At first, he just mentions ‘something inside,’ but then progresses into bizarre actions like eating raw meat and itching frantically. His pregnant wife, Soo-jin becomes more and more panicky, so the pair try to investigate and cure his problem on their own. But as his symptoms escalate, so does Su-jin’s hysteria, until she wonders if she ever knew the man she is sharing her life with, and if she will survive their marriage. Park Hyun-jung, Kim Nam-woo and Kim Guk-hee also star, and Ja-son Yu directs. And this film premiered at Cannes in 2023 , where it was nominated for the Golden Camera, and it went on to win Best Actress for Jung Yu-mi at the Blue Dragon Awards, and Best Screen Play for Ja-son Yu at the 2023 Baek Sang Art Awards. And it gets a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Christy Lemire of FilmWeek called it “a really fun, tight little thriller that accomplishes a great deal in a limited space.” So I’m tuning in. Hulu also offers Sugarcane, a 2025 Nat Geo documentary. This investigates reports of abuse and wrongdoing at the St. Joseph’s Mission, a Catholic school for indigenous children of the Sugarcane reservation, in Williams Lake, BC, Canada. But with the investigation come tales of drownings, unmarked graves, and, horribly, children fathered by the staff. And this documentary has unsettling first-hand accounts by some of the former students, including some relatives of co-director Julian Brave NoiseCat, forever traumatized by their time at the school. But as the people tell of their time there, the community also tries to heal and just deserts for the people responsible. Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat co-direct, and Emily Kassie and Kellen Quinn produced it. And this film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury award for Directing. It also went on to win the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Prize at the 2024 Hamburg Film Festival, and Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 Nashville Film Festival, and the 2024 San Francisco International Film Festival, among others. And its nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s 2025 Oscars. And Sugarcane gets a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Peyton Robinson of RogerEbert.com calls it “profoundly evocative, with spoken memories and moments of inability to muster the words gut-punching with equal measure.” So I’m definitely tuning in. Hulu has also added Whiskey on the Rocks, a 2025 Swedish comedy series. This takes place in 1981, with the Cold War in full swing, when the Soviet sub U137 running aground a restricted area, in the Karlskrona archipelago . As tensions run high, and Ronald Reagan(Mark Noble) wants answers, Swedish prime minister Thorbjörn Fälldin (Rolf Lassgård) tries handle both him and a drunken Leonid Brezhnev (Kestutis Stasys Jakstas). And as one crisis is averted , another rises to the top, with Fälldin trying to maintain civility and sanity, too. Elsa Saisio, Anders Mossling, Niklas Engdahl, Filip Berg and Per Lasson also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. And this series gets a 6.9/10 on IMDb, and Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times says “as a toast to diplomacy, rational thought and animal husbandry, Whiskey is what the world needs now — it did me some good, anyway.” And I am so tuning in. And, finally, Hulu has added The Best Heart Attack of My Life, a 2025 Argentine Spanish-language comedy series. Set in 2017, this revolves around Ariel, played by Alan Sabbagh, a middle aged ghostwriter whose pressures are mounting, with his wife Isabel (Eleonora Wexler) leaving him, and a ridiculously short deadline for his next book. Unhappy with ghostwriting, he meets a new woman, Concha(Olivia Molina) while reading his poetry, and , during their liaison, has a heart attack. But Ariel’s life changes for the better, after the agony of quitting smoking , and cutting down on calories, mainly because he reunites with Concha, and finds a way out of the rut he was in. Rogelio Gracia, Romina Peluffo , Rita Cortese and Eleonora Wexler also star, and there are 6 episodes available now. And this series gets an astounding 7.9/10 on IMDb, and Emanuel Juárez of OhLaLa! calls it an ” inspiring and funny comedy based on a true event.” So I’m watching.
NETFLIX
The biggest title added on Netflix this week is probably Saturday Night, the 2024 drama. This tells, of course, about the beginning of Saturday Night Live, with a young producer, Lorne Michaels(Gabriel LaBelle), trying to keep NBC officials committed to airing the show. So while NBC honchos are threatening to rerun an old Johnny Carson show instead, Michaels tries to rein in the backstage chaos with players like John Belushi(Matt Wood), Chevy Chase(Cory Michael Smith), Gilda Radner(Ella Hunt) and, even the show’s host, George Carlin(Matthew Rhys), is convinced of the show’s quality. But, the show does go on, and the rest, of course, is history. Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard and Kaia Gerber also star, and Jason Reitman directed. And this movie premiered last October at the Telluride Film Festival, and has won several awards, like the Virtuoso Award for Lamorne Morris at the Virginia Film Festival, and the movie won Best Ensemble at the St. Louis Film Critics Association. And it gets a respectable 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Christy Lemire of FilmWeek called it “rollicking, expertly cast cosplay… If you enjoy watching famous people play other famous people, you’ll have a good time.” So its on my list. But Netflix also has Bat War, a 2024 Thai comedy. This tells of a Thailand where traditional music is banned, and Colonel Phao is assigned to shut down all the music schools in the country. But the students at Seian Khao‘s school disagree with being silenced and so go on a campaign to save their music, and fight the war of silence. Pachara Chirathivat, Jirayu La–ongmanee, Jorin Khumpiraphan, Panupan Jantanawong, Nachat Juntapun and Taveesak Phetpraneenukulf also star, and directed. and while there is no rating for Bat War on IMDb, MyDramaList gives it a 7.7/10, so I’m watching. Also new on Netflix is Perfect Match, a 2025 Chinese period drama series. This takes place during the Song Dynasty, with the wealthy Madame Li (Ni Hong-jie) moving to Bianjing, with her 4 unmarried daughters. She’s intent upon finding them husbands, but the eldest, Shou-hua (Liu Xie-ning), already a widow, does not want to remarry, but instead to open a business. The third daughter, Kang-ning (Lu Yu-xiao), is strong-willed, and nicknamed “The Rogue Tiger, ” while fourth daughter, Hao-de (Ke Ying) might be a bit too honest. In short, Madame Li has her work cut out for her, and has no promise of a happy ending. Wu Xuan-yi, Huang Yang Tian-tian and Chen He Yi also star, and there are 4 episodes available now, with 26 more to come. And this series gets a 7.7/10 on MyDramaList, so, though I can find no online reviews(yet), I am tuning in. Netflix has also added The Sand Castle, a 2024 Lebanese mystical drama. This finds a family stranded on an island, with only a radio and few provisions. While parents Yasmine ( Nadine Labaki) and Nabil (Ziad Bakri) radio for help(with no answer), and try to maintain normalcy for their two children, Jana and Adam, though the kids are also warned to be quiet, and not to be seen. But, while the fanciful Jana enjoys the island, and builds a sand castle for the family to admire, soon, the horrible truth of their true environment comes to light. Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri and Riman Al Rafeea also star, while Matty Brown directs. And this movie premiered at the 2024 Red Sea Film Festival,and gets an incredible 8/10 on IMDb. And Daniel Hart of Ready Steady Cut calls it a “a hauntingly beautiful and emotionally charged debut that masterfully blends survival drama with heartfelt family dynamics.” And I’m tuning in. And, finally, Netflix has The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, a 2025 K-drama medical action series. Here, Dr. Baek Kang-hyeok(Ju Ji-hoon) is charged with bringing a trauma department at the Hangkuk University Hospital up to snuff, after it was understaffed and under funded for years. But, though Kang-hyuk has a great history in the field, working in areas of war zones, he is also arrogant, and difficult to deal with. So while the doctors and nurses at the hospital clash with him, and difficulties arise, slowly, they come to realize each other’s worth, and to work together as a team. Choo Young-woo, Ha Young, Yoon Kyung-ho and Jeong Jae-kwang also star, and there are 8 episodes available now. And this series gets an impressive an 7.9/10 on IMDb, and Inaas Fatima Khan of Sportskeeda calls it “an exhilarating tale of a heroic doctor with a solid crew who devote their time and energy to saving lives.” So I’m watching.
AMAZON
Amazon‘s big add this week, Blink Twice, a 2024 thriller. Here, a waitress named Frida, played by Naomi Ackie, and her friend Jess, played by Alia Shawkat, work an event where they inadvertently meet tech billionaire, Slater King(Channing Tatum). Though he recently had to relinquish his CEO position because of bad behavior, the pair still accept his invitation to a big bash by him, on a private island. Once there, though, with their phones confiscated, and cut off from the rest of the world, the two women begin to notice weird things ,like memory lapses. And when Jess is killed because her memory returns, Frida knows she must escape the hellish island and the violence that is enveloping it. Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment (!), Kyle MacLachlan(!) and Geena Davis(!) also star, and Zoë Kravitz(!) directs for the first time here, along with writing the script. And this movie gets a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Ian Freer of Time Out called it “one of the wildest rides of 2024,” adding “it’s a film about the abuses of power, the dangers of being a woman in a man’s world and the importance of female solidarity, but is never didactic, just gripping. In short, Blink Twice is both brainfood and a blast.” So I’m watching. Amazon has also added The Calendar Killer, a 2025 thriller. Here, Klara ( Luise Heyer) is targeted by the Calendar Killer, with an ultimatum-either Klara kills her husband, or she will be killed herself, at midnight. Tormented by the threat, Klara calls a helpline, and get Jules(Sabin Tambrea), and she explains her predicament. But she also tells of her abusive husband, and her struggle with mental illness, it becomes clear she’s reluctant to tell anyone her story, for fear of their disbelief.. And, so, as midnight nears, with Klara left on her own, except for her phone companion, to avoid at tragic fate. Friedrich Mücke, Rainer Bock and Andreas Döhler also star, while Adolfo J. Kolmerer directs. And this movie was nominated for Best Television movie at the 2024 Monte-Carlo TV Festival, so though this movie gets but a 5.5/10 on IMDb, I’m watching. And Daniel Hart of Ready Steady Cut says its “not just a serial killer thriller but a haunting exploration of personal torment and domestic abuse interwoven within a suspenseful narrative.” So I’m tuning in. And, finally, Amazon has added The Liberation, a 2025 Mexican comedy/drama series. Also called La Liberación, this finds a young actress finally coming forward to make a complaint of sexual harassment against a popular and powerful director, Lucas Garcia Garcia. but while she may expect hate calls, threats, and pushback from the director and his friends, she doesn’t expect three women to pressure her not to tell her story, and to withdraw her complaint. But those women have an ordeal themselves, as they try to persuade the young woman from telling a story they know is true. Cassandra Ciangherotti , Johanna Murillo, Ilse Salas and José María Yazpik also star, and there are 7 episodes available now. And Neerja Choudhuri of the Midgard Times call sit “a daring and thought-provoking series that refuses to shy away from controversy.” So I’m definitely watching
So sit back and binge this weekend, on classics, old and new, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Enjoy!
Grownups Guide to Streaming 